It's a Wonderful Life!

"It's a Wonderful Life" is my most favourite movie.  I don't wait till Christmas to watch it, I stick it in the dvd player every chance I get.

Today felt like the moment in the movie when Jimmy Stewart "comes back to life" and all of his friends file into the house emptying their pockets of all the money they have to save him from bankruptcy...

He had no idea how loved he was.  He had no idea what the people in his life would do for him.  He had no idea how his actions created a ripple effect of love and appreciation in the community around him.

It's an accurate picture of my life, really.  And probably your life too.

I do things because I want to do them, because they make me happy.  I enjoy being in the company of my friends.  I enjoy sending them notes of appreciation and encouragement.  It's easy for me to welcome people into my home, invite them to share meditation and Reiki with me.  It's easy for me to smile and embrace people.  It's easy because it's who I am.

We are all like this...  We do all kinds of things in life, thinking they are too small to make a difference because they come naturally to us.  When in actuality that sharing of what you love and those small bits of yourself transform themselves into amazing things!

For instance, you have coffee with a friend and share with them how much you appreciate them and how much you believe in who they are.  Then "POOF" one day you get a message from that friend who tells you that she's been able to move forward with a dream she has had because of your support and belief in what she has to offer.

So, just in case you've never been told.  YOU MAKE A DIFFERENCE!

Don't deny yourself the knowledge of all the good that you do in this world.  Whether you hold the door open for the next person or you spend the day cleaning the bathroom or doing the laundry.

Your impact is immeasurable because you are here and you are being what you need to be in the moment.

It's a wonderful life when you embrace the life you are living, whatever the situation.

Go on....embrace it!

Ah to be a kid again...

Don't you wish you could throw yourself on the floor and have a temper tantrum without anyone judging you or putting one of those jackets on that make you hug yourself?

I was thinking of this, this morning when my youngest son decided he was too tired to go to school and proceeded to tell me (quite loudly) how he felt about this whole education thing and how unfair it is to send children to school when they are clearly too tired to go....

As I watched him move from one outburst to the other, I thought about how fabulous it would feel to be able to just go ahead and let it rip like that.  With no regard for what someone may be thinking of you and in the presence of someone who loves you so much they will still love you when you are finished spewing your last word.

The immense relief that would come from letting out all the emotion that has been building up for years and years flow out in whatever way shape or form it chooses to flow in that moment.

Then just go and take a nap to recuperate....

Ahhhh....

How divinely delicious that would be......

Expectations and all that Jazz....

Expectation: belief about (or mental picture of) the future •anticipation: anticipating with confidence of fulfillment •the feeling that something is about to happen


Expectations...  They are tricky little suckers...

I've come to regard expectations as just a smidge evil.  They turn good people into buckets of stress!

Why?

Because we can't control someone else's behaviour and actions.  So expecting something from someone outside of ourselves is almost always a lose/lose situation...

Have you noticed what happens when the things you have been expecting, don't come through?

It throws you off balance and turns you into a miserable sour puss for the rest of the day....  Maybe you'll use that as an excuse to make everyone else around you pay for your misfortune, or maybe you'll sulk?

Expectations can ruin your plans for the loving life you wish to live.

I know the argument will arise that the Universal Law of Attraction says that we need to be in a state of expectation when it comes to our dreams.  I gotta tell you; I experience a higher rate of positive manifestation when I don't put my full energy into the expectation part! 

The key to this law is to feel the appreciation and the love of the expectation, not just in the expectation itself.

The kind of expectation I am addressing is the kind that takes a loving man, woman or child and turns them into a blood thirsty lunatic when they aren't getting their own way....  Sound familiar?!?!

I've heard the argument "respect and love should be expected from our children, family, friends and spouses" or "without expectations there isn't anything for anyone to work towards".

What about when your expectations totally take over your life.  You expect this from one person, this from another and something else from someone else.  Your life is full of expectations of others.

Are you living a life where you are expecting everything from everyone outside of you?  Do you find yourself in a state of consistent disappointment and unhappiness?  Are you unwilling to carry out the exact expectations you are putting on someone else? 

If you answered yes to these questions.  Let me ask you:  How is this working for you?

I'm guessing that it isn't....

The good news is that this is really easy to change.

The next time you have the opportunity to expect something from someone (and there is ALWAYS another opportunity).  Take a moment and re-evaluate the situation.  Ask yourself if there is a benefit to this expectation or will it leave you feeling unloved, unworthy and unappreciated if the other person doesn't follow through? 

Relax your expectations a little.  Relax them until you feel happiness and relaxation instead of stress and frustration.  Until your relationships blossom and feel good to you.  Until you receive something you didn't expect.

What you may find is that the less pressure you put on the people in your life, the more room there is for harmony in your relationships, and the less room there is for stress and frustration!

Besides, the only person we can really expect anything from; is ourselves.  And even that's a challenge some days....